State scope data file sharing

ABSTRACT

A method, computer system, and/or computer program product shares state scope data among client devices in a cloud-based file synchronization service, where the client devices are intermittently connected to the cloud-based file synchronization service. In response to a first client device requesting a current version of shared state scope data from a second client device, the cloud-based file synchronization service transmits a request to the second client device for the updated shared state scope data. The updated shared state scope data is stored in the cloud-based file synchronization service, and then transmitted to the first client device.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to the field of computers, andspecifically to computers that store state scope files. Still moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to synchronizing statescope files between computers.

In normal state scope data file sharing, the state scope changes arerouted through a shared state server and then broadcast to applicableclients, allowing all applicable clients to process the same state scopedata file. However, in a mobile environment, devices may becomedisconnected from the server, thus preventing synchronization of statescope data.

SUMMARY

A method and/or computer system shares state scope data among clientdevices in a cloud-based file synchronization service, where the clientdevices are intermittently connected to the cloud-based filesynchronization service. In response to a first client device requestinga current version of shared state scope data from a second clientdevice, the cloud-based file synchronization service transmits a requestto the second client device for the updated shared state scope data. Theupdated shared state scope data is stored in the cloud-based filesynchronization service, and then transmitted to the first clientdevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary computer in which the present disclosure maybe implemented; and

FIG. 2 is a high level flow chart of one or more exemplary steps takenby one or more processors to share state scope data among multipledevices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

With reference now to the figures, and in particular to FIG. 1, there isdepicted a block diagram of an exemplary computer 102, which may beutilized by the present disclosure. Note that some or all of theexemplary architecture, including both depicted hardware and software,shown for and within computer 102 may be utilized by software deployingserver 150, database server 152, first computer(s) 154 and/or secondcomputer(s) 156.

Computer 102 includes a processor unit 104 that is coupled to a systembus 106. Processor unit 104 may utilize one or more processors, each ofwhich has one or more processor cores. A video adapter 108, whichdrives/supports a display 110, is also coupled to system bus 106.

System bus 106 is coupled via a bus bridge 112 to an input/output (I/O)bus 114. An I/O interface 116 is coupled to I/O bus 114. I/O interface116 affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard118, a mouse 120, a media tray 122 (which may include storage devicessuch as CD-ROM drives, multi-media interfaces, etc.), a printer 124, and(if a VHDL chip 137 is not utilized in a manner described below),external USB port(s) 126. While the format of the ports connected to I/Ointerface 116 may be any known to those skilled in the art of computerarchitecture, in one embodiment some or all of these ports are universalserial bus (USB) ports.

As depicted, computer 102 is able to communicate with a softwaredeploying server 150, a database server 152, first computer(s) 154,and/or second computer(s) 156 via network 128 using a network interface130. Network 128 may be an external network such as the Internet, or aninternal network such as an Ethernet or a virtual private network (VPN).

A hard drive interface 132 is also coupled to system bus 106. Hard driveinterface 132 interfaces with a hard drive 134. In one embodiment, harddrive 134 populates a system memory 136, which is also coupled to systembus 106. System memory is defined as a lowest level of volatile memoryin computer 102. This volatile memory includes additional higher levelsof volatile memory (not shown), including, but not limited to, cachememory, registers and buffers. Data that populates system memory 136includes computer 102's operating system (OS) 138 and applicationprograms 144.

OS 138 includes a shell 140, for providing transparent user access toresources such as application programs 144. Generally, shell 140 is aprogram that provides an interpreter and an interface between the userand the operating system. More specifically, shell 140 executes commandsthat are entered into a command line user interface or from a file.Thus, shell 140, also called a command processor, is generally thehighest level of the operating system software hierarchy and serves as acommand interpreter. The shell provides a system prompt, interpretscommands entered by keyboard, mouse, or other user input media, andsends the interpreted command(s) to the appropriate lower levels of theoperating system (e.g., a kernel 142) for processing. Note that whileshell 140 is a text-based, line-oriented user interface, the presentdisclosure will equally well support other user interface modes, such asgraphical, voice, gestural, etc.

As depicted, OS 138 also includes kernel 142, which includes lowerlevels of functionality for OS 138, including providing essentialservices required by other parts of OS 138 and application programs 144,including memory management, process and task management, diskmanagement, and mouse and keyboard management.

Application programs 144 include a renderer, shown in exemplary manneras a browser 146. Browser 146 includes program modules and instructionsenabling a world wide web (WWW) client (i.e., computer 102) to send andreceive network messages to the Internet using hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP) messaging, thus enabling communication with softwaredeploying server 150 and other described computer systems.

Application programs 144 in computer 102's system memory (as well assoftware deploying server 150's system memory) also include a mobilecloud state scope sharing logic (MCSSSL) 148. MCSSSL 148 includes codefor implementing the processes described below, including thosedescribed in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, computer 102 is able to downloadMCSSSL 148 from software deploying server 150, including in an on-demandbasis, such that the code from MCSSSL 148 is not downloaded untilruntime or otherwise immediately needed by computer 102. Note furtherthat, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, software deployingserver 150 performs all of the functions associated with the presentdisclosure (including execution of MCSSSL 148), thus freeing computer102 from having to use its own internal computing resources to executeMCSSSL 148.

The hardware elements depicted in computer 102 are not intended to beexhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essentialcomponents required by the present disclosure. For instance, computer102 may include alternate memory storage devices such as magneticcassettes, digital versatile disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and thelike. These and other variations are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a high level flow chart of one or moresteps taken by one or more processors for sharing state informationbetween clients is presented. After initiator block 200, a staging areafor a state scope data store is provided within a cloud-based filesynchronization service. In one embodiment, the cloud-based filesynchronization service is known as a “drop box”, which allows multipleclient devices to access a same storage file on a network. The statescope data store resides within the cloud-based file synchronizationservice that supports storage of a shared state scope data file of afirst client device and a second client device. In one embodiment, theshared state scope data file describes data entries into a sharedapplication that is running on both the first client device and thesecond client device. A shared state scope data file is data (e.g., map,database) that resides in the cloud-based file synchronization service,the client devices and/or on a server that supports the cloud-based filesynchronization service and the client devices. A data store in thecloud-based file synchronization service stores state information andincludes rules directed to defining the type of state information (e.g.,user-wide state information, device-wide state information,application-specific state information) stored within the data store aswell as rules directed to defining the lifecycle of the stateinformation (e.g., duration of time that the state information isvalid). The state information stored in these shared state scopes can beshared among multiple instances of an application residing on multipleclient devices.

Note that in one embodiment, the staging area is partitioned tosegregate state scope data that is device-specific from state scope datathat is application-specific. That is, state scope data that isdevice-specific is data that describes a state of a device, such as aparticular device's configuration, attached resources, hibernation/powerstate, etc. State scope data that is application-specific describes astate of a particular application, such as what data has been enteredinto or for use by the particular application, whether the particularapplication is currently minimized on a user interface, etc.

In one embodiment, the first client device and the second client deviceare intermittently connected to and disconnected from the cloud-basedfile synchronization service. Thus, a change to a state scope data onone of the devices may or may not appear within the cloud-based filesynchronization service (and particularly the staging area) if a deviceis disconnected from the cloud-based file synchronization service duringthe change. In one embodiment, one or both of the first and secondclient devices are mobile devices. Exemplary mobile devices include, butare not limited to, “smart” cell phones, tablet computers, or any othermobile computing devices. Note that mobile devices have a higherprobability of lost connectivity than a traditional client server, whichin one embodiment is assumed to be always connected.

In one embodiment, the partitioning of the staging area defines whattype of device and/or application-running device may be accessed by aparticular mobile device. For example, a user may wish to onlycommunicate with (and thus be synchronized with) a device that isrunning a particular program. By permitting only devices that arerunning this particular program to access a particular partition in thestaging area, then only updates related to that particular program willbe shared among the different client devices.

With reference now to block 204 of FIG. 2, a request is received fromthe first client device to access the shared state scope data file fromthe cloud-based file synchronization service. In one embodiment, thesecond client device is disconnected from the cloud-based filesynchronization service when the request is received, and thus theshared state scope data file may be out of date.

As described above, the second client device is disconnected from thecloud-based file synchronization service when the request from the firstclient device arrives at the cloud-based file synchronization service.Thus, as described in query block 206, a determination is made as towhether the second client is reconnected to the cloud-based filesynchronization service. If so, the first client device will thentransmit, via the cloud-based file synchronization service, a request tothe second client device for the shared state scope file that describesthe current state scope of the second client device (block 208).

With reference now to blocks 210 and 212 in FIG. 2, once shared statescope data is received from the second client device, the shared statescope data from the second client device is the stored in the stagingarea for state scope date storage in the cloud-based filesynchronization service.

In one embodiment, a conflict may arise when state scope data is shared(i.e., shared state scope data conflicts with an application running inmultiple devices). When a conflict is detected, the conflicting changesto the shared scope data are then placed into a conflict file within alock file in the staging area. That is, the conflicting changes includea first change from the first client device and a second change from thesecond client device. In one embodiment, in response to detecting asignal from the first client device indicating that the first clientdevice has authorized an abandonment of the first change, the secondchange is transmitted to the first client device from the conflict filein the lock file. Thereafter, in response to the second change beingtransmitted to the first client device, the lock file is deleted.

In one embodiment, it may not be necessary to share the state scope datawith another device. For example, assume that the first device is merelychanging a screen saver or a background picture. In this example, thereis no need to share this change with the second device, since it doesnot affect the shared state scope of the two devices. Thus, scope datadescribing the change to the screen saver/background picture istransmitted to the cloud-based file synchronization service, but is notshared with other devices, even when such other devices reconnect to thecloud-based file synchronization service.

As described in block 214, the shared state scope data of the seconddevice is transmitted from the staging area to the first client device.In this way, the two devices both possess the same state scope data. Forexample, one device is able to communicate with a second device in orderto ensure that both devices, which are running the same application,software, etc., have the same state scope data. The process ends attermination block 216.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of various embodiments of the present invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description, but is notintended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spiritof the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles of the invention and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the invention for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Note further that any methods described in the present disclosure may beimplemented through the use of a VHDL (VHSIC Hardware DescriptionLanguage) program and a VHDL chip. VHDL is an exemplary design-entrylanguage for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and other similar electronicdevices. Thus, any software-implemented method described herein may beemulated by a hardware-based VHDL program, which is then applied to aVHDL chip, such as a FPGA.

Having thus described embodiments of the invention of the presentapplication in detail and by reference to illustrative embodimentsthereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations arepossible without departing from the scope of the invention defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for utilizing a cloud-based filesynchronization service to share state scope data among client devices,the method comprising: providing, by one or more processors, a stagingarea for a state scope data store, wherein the state scope data storeresides within a cloud-based file synchronization service that supportsstorage of a shared state scope data file of a first client device and asecond client device, wherein the shared state scope data file describesdata entries into a shared application that is running on both the firstclient device and the second client device, wherein the staging area ispartitioned to segregate state scope data that is device-specific fromstate scope data that is application-specific, and wherein the firstclient device and the second client device are intermittently connectedto and disconnected from the cloud-based file synchronization service;receiving, by one or more processors, a request from the first clientdevice to access the shared state scope data file from the cloud-basedfile synchronization service, wherein the second client device isdisconnected from the cloud-based file synchronization service when therequest is received; in response to one or more processors detectingthat the second client device is reconnected to the cloud-based filesynchronization service, transmitting, by one or more processors, arequest to the second client device for the shared state scope file ofthe second client device; receiving, by one or more processors, theshared state scope data file for the second client device; storing, byone or more processors, the shared state scope data file for the secondclient device in the staging area for the state scope data store; and inresponse to one or more processors receiving and storing the sharedstate scope data file for the second client device, transmitting, by oneor more processors, the shared state scope data file for the secondclient device from the staging area to the first client device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: in response to one or moreprocessors detecting that the first client device and the second clientdevice are concurrently attempting to make conflicting changes to theshared state scope data file, placing, by one or more processors, theconflicting changes into a conflict file within a lock file in thestaging area, wherein the conflicting changes comprise a first changefrom the first client device and a second change from the second clientdevice; in response to one or more processors detecting a signal fromthe first client device indicating that the first client device hasauthorized an abandonment of the first change, transmitting, by one ormore processors, the second change to the first client device from theconflict file in the lock file; and in response to the second changebeing transmitted to the first client device, deleting, by one or moreprocessors, the lock file.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:receiving, by one or more processors, a first data from the first clientdevice, determining, by one or more processors, whether the first datafrom the first client device affects a shared state scope of the firstclient device and the second client device; and in response to one ormore processors determining that the first data from the first clientdevice does not affect the shared state scope of the first client deviceand the second client device, blocking, by one or more processors,storage of the first data in the staging area, wherein blocked data fromthe first client device is only stored in the first client device.
 4. Acomputer system comprising: a processor, a computer readable memory, anda computer readable storage medium; first program instructions toprovide a staging area for a state scope data store, wherein the statescope data store resides within a cloud-based file synchronizationservice that supports storage of a shared state scope data file of afirst client device and a second client device, wherein the shared statescope data file describes data entries into a shared application that isrunning on both the first client device and the second client device,wherein the staging area is partitioned to segregate state scope datathat is device-specific from state scope data that isapplication-specific, and wherein the first client device and the secondclient device are intermittently connected to and disconnected from thecloud-based file synchronization service; second program instructions toreceive a request from the first client device to access the sharedstate scope data file from the cloud-based file synchronization service,wherein the second client device is disconnected from the cloud-basedfile synchronization service when the request is received; third programinstructions to, in response to detecting that the second client deviceis reconnected to the cloud-based file synchronization service, transmita request to the second client device for the shared state scope file ofthe second client device; fourth program instructions to receive theshared state scope data file for the second client device; fifth programinstructions to store the shared state scope data file for the secondclient device in the staging area for the state scope data store; andsixth program instructions to, in response to receiving and storing theshared state scope data file for the second client device, transmit theshared state scope data file for the second client device from thestaging area to the first client device; and wherein said first, second,third, fourth, fifth, and sixth program instructions are stored on saidcomputer readable storage medium for execution by said processor viasaid computer readable memory.
 5. The computer system of claim 4,further comprising: seventh program instructions to, in response todetecting that the first client device and the second client device areconcurrently attempting to make conflicting changes to the shared statescope data file, place the conflicting changes into a conflict filewithin a lock file in the staging area, wherein the conflicting changescomprise a first change from the first client device and a second changefrom the second client device; eighth program instructions to, inresponse to detecting a signal from the first client device indicatingthat the first client device has authorized an abandonment of the firstchange, transmit the second change to the first client device from theconflict file in the lock file; and ninth program instructions to, inresponse to the second change being transmitted to the first clientdevice, delete the lock file; and wherein said seventh, eighth, andninth program instructions are stored on said computer readable storagemedium for execution by said processor via said computer readablememory.
 6. The computer system of claim 5, further comprising: tenthprogram instructions to receive a first data from the first clientdevice, eleventh program instructions to determine whether the firstdata from the first client device affects a shared state scope of thefirst client device and the second client device; and twelfth programinstructions to, in response to determining that the first data from thefirst client device does not affect the shared state scope of the firstclient device and the second client device, block storage of the firstdata in the staging area, wherein blocked data from the first clientdevice is only stored in the first client device; and wherein saidtenth, eleventh, and twelfth program instructions are stored on saidcomputer readable storage medium for execution by said processor viasaid computer readable memory.